When one mentions charismatic, vibrant, energetic, and influential emcees over the past three decades, one of the names mentioned on a consistent basis is "The Mighty" Busta Rhymes. The Long Island emcee is an original. Since his days with Dinco D, Charlie Brown, and Milo, aka Leaders of the New School, Busta has always been the standout with his hyped up, volume at ten delivery and style. His breakout moment came in the form of his show-stealing verse on A Tribe Called Quest's legendary posse cut, "Scenario", in which he commanded everyone's attention from the moment he started his verse with "As I combine all the juice from the mind", it was ON! Considering the fact that every single person on that cut DELIVERED (most underrated verse goes to Dinco without question), Busta's verse changed his career, and ultimately his life. He became a star, and to the dismay of his groupmates, it caused enough friction between he and Charlie to where LONS disbanded. Where one door closes, another opens. In his case, he became the guest verse king, appearing on cuts from Boyz II Men, Tribe, and especially the ever-memorable remix to the late Craig Mack's "Flava in Ya Ear". Along with other bits of buzz, Busta finally dropped his debut of '95 (another amazing year in hip-hop), The Coming. From there, an unforgettable career took off. Through several highs and some unfortunate lows, Busta has been a made man and his discography is one that overall kept you moving and kept the dance floor on fire. We won't the album with his group, Flipmode Squad, as it's more an entire group, but their album, The Imperial, was a fabulous album that showed how each of them had chemistry with each other, while still realizing Busta was the captain of the ship. After numerous Grammy nominations, BET Award wins and other career award achievements (including a much-earned Lifetime Achievement Award at the BET Awards in 2023), Busta is forever an icon and a folk hero to all of us in hip-hop, and hasn't slowed down yet, as he will be behind the first Flipmode Squad album in over two decades this Fall. For now, we will break down his discography and present why, although not flawless, his series of albums will still be formidable with anyone's in the past few decades. Let's go shall we!
11. Blockbusta
Production: artist, Swizz Beats, Timbaland, Pharrell Williams, Cardiak, Focus, DJ Khalyl, Mike N Keys, Cool & Dre, others
Guests: Yiung Thug, Coi Leray, BLXST, DaBaby, T-Pain, Quavo, Bia, Burna Boy, Chrois Brown, others
We start with the latest album from Buss-A-Bus. His 2023 offering, Blockbusta, comes off the heels of arguably his most incredible effort in 2020, Extinction Level Event 2. Unfortunately, this didn't receive nearly as much acclaim. Undoubtedly an album for the clubs, as the album was executive produced by Swizz Beats, Pharrell Williams, and Timbaland. What should've been a monstrous club classic turned out to be an uneven album that was minimized of direction. Were there good hits on it? Sure, there were. Cuts like "Slide", "Homage", and "The Hive" are decent at best, and the Coi-Leray-assisted "Luxury Life" is good for what it's meant for: something for the youth. That's more or less the premise of the album. It's certainly an album for this generation of TikTok and social media rappers to almost try and prove his relevancy when that's not needed in this way at all (Nas is the most fantastic example of this). While he does shine in typical Busta fashion on cuts like "Hold Up" and "The Return Of Mansa Musa", as a whole, this album massively underdelivered. With names like Swizz, Timbaland, and Pharrell as EPs, you'd expect an album that would be hit after hit after hit, but this instead was an attempt to keep up with youthful trends rather than be comfortable where has been throughout his career, which is move on his own standards and in his own ways. We all know Busta can do better, and he most definitely has as you'll continue to see throughout this rundown. Here's to expecting way better from Busta than this one.
10. Back On My B.S.
Production: DJ Scratch, Jelly Roll, DeNaun Porter, Cool & Dre, Pharrell Williams, Ron Browz, others
Guests: Mary J. Blige, Common, Jamie Foxx, John Legend, T-pain, Lil Wayne, Akon, T.I., Pharrell, Jadakiss, others
Busta's '09 offering, Back On My B.S., was not an extraordinary work of art either necessarily. Although the production from the likes of Ron Browz, DJ Scratch, Pharrell, and Cool & Dre were a bit better than the aforementioned album, it wasn't by a whole lot. There were highs here in the form of the strangely addictive lead-off single, "Arab Money", the Lil Wayne/Jadakiss-assisted, "Respect My Conglomerate", and "Shoot for The Moon", as these cuts sound like minor throwbacks to sounds that would've belonged even better on albums like E.L.E. or even Genesis. One does wish cuts like these would continue their momentum, but it gets hit or miss the rest of the way. While other cuts like the reggae-saturated "Kill Dem" and "Imma Go & Get My..." are somewhat enjoyable, others like "Sugar", "We Miss You", and the T-Pain-assisted "Hustler's Anthem '09" make you hit the skip button and never go back to them. There's no denying Busta's ability to handle his business whenever he wants to, but the times in which he gets too comfortable during this time is where he swings and misses badly. This isn't as garbage some others have reviewed it, however, it's definitely not an overall shining moment within his career, and Back on My B.S. was way more capable of being a very good album than it was.
9. Year Of the Dragon
production: Boi-1nda, Jahlil Beats, Bink!, DeNaun Porter, Ty Fiffe, Focus, others
Guests: Lil Wayne, Robin Thicke, Cam'ron, Gucci Mane, Vybez Kartel, Rick Ross, Trey Songz, others
In another example of "What is Busta trying to do here?", we have his Google Play free release, Year of the Dragon, from 2012. There's not a whole lot to say here. It's a mediocre, yet at times listenable, album from an emcee that knows what it takes to create a winning album and doesn't deliver the goods here. We'll go with the decent ones first, as cuts like the Rick Ross/Trey Songz-assisted "Til We Die", the Gucci Mane-collaborated "Make It Look Easy", and "Pressure" with Lil Wayne. All of which do an okay number of repeated listens. One can include "Sound Boy" with Cam'ron and the Focus...-produced "Do Ya Thing", which is possibly the best overall cut on this album and Busta sounds like he's having more fun here than in most of the other cuts. Unfortunately, it doesn't go beyond this, as other cuts like "Movie", the dreadful strip club-esque cut, "Grind Real Slow", and "King Tut" all suffer from mediocre production and honestly nothing about these cuts (and other similar ones here) bring anything fresh out of him. Not only does the production sound bland on these cuts, but Busta himself just sounds like he's there, not adding anything to these cuts to make them special. Then there are cuts like "Crazy" and "Doin' It Again", which are just no-nos honestly. While the closer with Anthony Hamilton-crooned "Bleed the Same Blood" is pretty good, overall, Year of the Dragon is a subpar project by someone that historically has delivered some of the most energetic and dynamic albums of his generation, and that's not acceptable. Trying so hard to keep the radios happy can backfire, and as we've seen these past few albums we've reviewed, this is having been the common element: trying so hard to get spins, even if it's all formulaic and to a degree, dated. This was another disappointing example.
8. It Ain't Safe No More
Production: J Dilla, The Neptunes, DJ Scratch, Megahertz, Swizz Beats, DeNaun Porter, Rick Rock, others
Guests: Mariah Carey, Flipmode Squad, Carl Thomas, Sean Paul, others
Off the heels of the dope Genesis, Busta brings forth his second album on Clive Davis' J Records, It Ain't Safe No More. This album, in a word, was...FUN. Busta was the radio kingpin with this album again, but with this album, unlike the previous albums mentioned, there were stuff that were thrown at the wall and stuck. Obviously, the singles of the infectious "Make It Clap" and the Mariah Carey-duet with Flipmode, "I Know What You Want" were the high-selling points going into the album's release, and how was the rest of the album? We get the answer soon with the Dilla-crafted title track that works as only Dilla and Busta together could make it. They continue their beloved chemistry on the cuts "What Up" and "Turn Me Up Some", and both make you wish that there was an entire Busta/Dilla album (there was a Busta x Dilla mixtape called Dillagence that was quite dope, but the instrumentals were not mixed nor fully mastered so we don't get the true fullness of how crazy these cuts could've been). He keeps the party going with other cuts like "Hop", the Rah Digga-assisted, Swizz Beats-produced, "Together", and "Call the Ambulance". On the flip side, there were some missteps here as well that can't be ignored. Cuts like the somewhat bland "Hey Ladies" and the underwhelming "Taste It" are a couple of examples of this. Also, "We Goin' To Do it To Ya" and "Struttin' Like a G.O.D." are okay, but ultimately suffer from lack of distinction from your usual Busta-esque cuts and this point some of the cuts start sounding the same. This changes with cuts like the conscious collab with Anthony Hamilton, "The Struggle Will Be Lost" and the dumb dope "Til it's Gone". Many have said It Ain't Safe No More was the start of the last cohesive Busta albums for years (with The Big Bang being his last wall to wall fire effort for several years), but regardless of everything else, this was a patented Busta album and this was a good one to bump in the car on the way to the club for the night or for that good old fashioned house party.
7. Genesis
Production: Dr. Dre, The Neptunes, Nottz, Just Blaze, Mel-Man, DJ Scratch, J Dilla, Diamond, Battlecat, Pete Rock, Yogi
Guests: Diddy, Flipmode Squad, Jaheim, Mary J. Blige, Kelis, others
One year after the uber dope Anarchy dropped, Busta returned in 2001 with Genesis, his debut on J records. This album was quintessential Busta, as there were plenty of sizzlers for everyone, absolutely everyone. For the night wilders, you'll lean into cuts like the Nottz-crafted banger, "Bad Dreams" and the fire Just Blaze-created, "Everybody Rise Again". For the backpackers, he delivered the Pete Rock-blessed, "Shut 'Em Down 2002". Of course there's the flammable collab with his Flipmode Squad, "Match The Name With The Voice". However, most of the album involves a LOT of body moving. He set the stage with the singles of the Kelis-assisted, "What It Is Right Now", "the neck-cramping, double time phonetics of "Break Ya Neck", and of course one of his most successful singles, the Pharrell/Diddy-assisted, "Pass the Courvoisier". That's not the end of the party, as other cuts like the shoulder- bouncing, Dilla-crafted "Make It Hurt", Bounce", and the headache casing, Dr. Dre-molded, "Truck Volume". While there are a couple of missteps, notably the Mary J. Blige-assisted, "There's Only One", the Jaheim-assisted, "Wife In Law", and the slightly underwhelming "Holla" (another Dre production), however others like the simply bumping "As I Come Back" make up for them. This wasn't a frenzied, overcooked album. That's what make Genesis one of his finest efforts. It did just enough, not too much, in terms of the radio aspects that weren't just formulaic, trendy, uninspired pieces. These were definitely signature Busta cuts, and ended up being quite the enjoyable album.
6. Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front
Production: artist, Nottz, DJ Scratch, Rockwilder, Swizz Beats, Nasheim Myrick, others
Guests: Flipmode Squad, Mystikal, Ozzy Osbourne, Janet Jackson
The third in the three part trilogy was Extinction Level Event: The Final World Front. The theme of the first three albums was that of an end of the world picture. A foregone apocalypse the world would never be prepared for, thus the subsequent end of the world (The Coming, When Disaster Strikes, and E.L.E. although one could argue Anarchy should be included as well). The intro alone is creepy and comes right out of a sci-fi flick, only in hip-hop form (although When Disaster Strikes intro cut is even better). After the intro, we get it in, as the riotous "Everybody Rise" is enough to turn your volume up as loud as it can go. Of course, everybody was familiar with the eerie strings from the timeless horror movie, Psycho, that eventually transformed into a fast tempo, shoulder bouncing, Grammy Award nominated anthem, "Gimme Some More". People were also extremely familiar with the delightful and sexy duet with THE Janet Jackson, "What's It Gonna Be" and the Swizz Beats-bouncing "Tear Da Roof Off". While other cuts like "Where We Are About To Take It", the mean collab with his Flipmode soldiers, "Against All Odds", and the other Swizz Beats-rocker, "Just Give It To me Raw", it was the super high-powered frenzy of a cut with Mystikal, "Iz They Wylin' With Us & Gettin' Rowdy Wit Us" that will likely cause the most headaches to get produced. Over a super, ridiculously hyper track, both emcees spit in double and triple time pacing, resulting in one of hip-hop's most quick-timed rhyme cuts ever. If you think you can interpret what they're saying in the uncanny speed of how they were going, go right ahead and try. In what could be considered the most unique collaboration, he teamed with iconic metal performer, Ozzy Osbourne, for the rock-indulging "This Means War". Is it for everybody? Probably not, but we have definitely seen far worse rap-rock collabs, and this wasn't one of them. With the dark "Burial Song" closing this album out, E.L.E.. was the third straight triumph for Busta, and rightfully so.
5. Anarchy
Production: artist, Nottz, DJ Scratch, Large Professor, J Dilla, Just Blaze, Scott Storch, Swizz Beats, DJ Shok, others
Guests: Flipmode Squad, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Roc Marciano, DMX, Jay-Z, M.O.P., Lenny Kravitz
It was hard to match or top the prior album, E.L.E.: The Final World Front, but in 2000, Busta definitely attempted to do so with Anarchy. Released just in time for the summer, the album was as hot as the day it was released. Continuing the theme of apocalyptical ideologies, especially to introduce the album. While quite as riotous overall as some of his other ones, that's just fine here. In fact, it's arguably the strength of the album. Of course, the HIGHLY infectious lead off-single, "Get Out" set a great tone for what was to come. The second single, "Fire" was another dope venture into what was to come for the album, and the rest of the album was very much in tune with these cuts, and even took a left turn or two. From the first full cut after the excellent intro, the bumpin' "Salute Da Gods" is a repeat-worthy track to get it going correctly. We then move into the melodic bump courtesy of Dilla on "Enjoy Da Ride" and other dope cuts such as another Dilla track, "Live it Up", "Street Shit", and "We Put It Down For Y'all". Aiming to fit in more street elements into the fray, he recruits Raekwon, Ghostface, and Flipmode's newest soldier at the time, Roc Marciano for the stellar cinematic, Large Professor-crafted, "The Heist" for perhaps the album's highlight. Likewise, he gets assistance from Brownsville's finest, M.O.P. for the gun-clapping "Ready For War" and the all-star collab with Jay-Z and the late, great DMX, "Why We Die" for an enormous cut. He gets reflective on the somber, "How Much We Grew", but that's short-lived as he gets back in the fight with the Lenny Kravitz-assisted "Make Noise". As the spooky sounds of the title track close the album, Anarchy is definitely a slight change of pace for Busta. While there were plenty of cuts for the clubs, this was more for the jeeps and the streets more than previous albums, or any other one from him for that matter. Busta came through and presented what has been called his most underrated album, but in reality, it was also one of his single best.
4. The Big Bang
Production: Dr. Dre, J Dilla, DJ Scratch, Swizz Beats, Just Blaze, Sha Money XL, Green lantern, Erick Sermon, Timbaland, DeNaun Porter, will.i.am, others
Guests: Stevie Wonder, Missy Elliot, Marsha Ambrosius, Nas, Q-Tip, Rick James, will.i.am, Kelis, others
When Busta departed from J Records, his next home was the house that Dre built, Aftermath. With Dre already providing him with heat prior to this album, it was only right that the good Doctor and The Mighty Infamous one collab, and The Big Bang was the result. As an overall album, he hadn't had a more cohesive album in his career up to this point in '06. With Dre providing over half the album's production, we knew this would be quite the stellar album alone off that, but when you include a posthumous Dilla track, as well as contributions from the likes of frequent collaborators such as Pharrell, Scratch, Swizz Beats, and Just Blaze, this had all the makings to be a Bussa Bus classic. Did it hold up to the hype? Let's break it down. From the thumping, Swizz Beats-produced first single, "Touch It" to the cheeky-love cut with Kelis, "I Love My Bitch", one would think, this could be fun already. Obviously "Touch it" took off so far there were quite a number of remixes with various guest contributors such as Mary J. Blige, Lloyd Banks, Missy Elliott, and more. he keeps the parry going and continuous with cuts like the Missy Elliot-assisted, "How We Do it Over Here" and the Timbaland-produced, "Get Down". He also provides some tremendous moments away from the club as well. Case in point would be the stunning collaboration with the iconic Stevie Wonder for "Been Through The Storm", in which he highlights his struggles growing up and failed friendships and betrayals. He also shines on more street-lore cuts like the Raekwon-assisted "Goldmine" and the delightful sounds of Marsha Ambrosius on "Cocaina". He likewise conjures up the vocals of the late, great Rick James for his reworking of James' old smash, "In The Ghetto" and the mellow sounding mid-tempo groove of the Swizz Beats-assisted, "New York Shit". With other tremendous cuts such as the Nas-assisted, "Don't Get Carried Away", the Q-Tip/Marsha-collaborated, "Get You Some", and the wonderful Dilla-rework of Minnie Ripperton's "Inside My Love" (similarly used by Tribe Called Quest for "Lyrics To Go") "You Can't Handle The Torch" (ironically Tip is on this cut as well). It is the closing track, however, that people take notice of. The dark and ominous Dre-crafted, "Legend Of The Fall Offs" is an ode to those that put themselves in the proverbial ground by not putting in the work to keep their legacies in tact. Quite possibly the darkest cut in Busta's career. Folks, The Big Bang could be mentioned as Busta's best album, if not for anything else for the stellar work Dre did to produce and curate this excellent album. Not too party/club-happy, but not too street either. A burner of an effort.
3. The Coming
Production: The Ummah, DJ Scratch, Easy Mo Bee, others
Guests: Flipmode Squad, Def Squad, Zhane, Leaders Of the New School, Q-Tip
One of the most anticipated debuts in recent years was in '96 when we finally got Busta's debut album, The Coming. After his numerous guest appearances and frequent speculation about his relationship with L.O.N.S., The Coming arrived, and it definitely was worthy the wait and the hype. His signature rah-rah, "dungeon dragon"-style was in full effect over the majority of the album. The dynamite opening intro set the way for the neck-snapping, "Do My Thing", and from there he gets into one of the true standouts of the album, the tremendous "Everything Remains Raw", where he reminds us of why he was one of one, both lyrically and charismatically over a very engaging beat from the one and only Easy Mo Bee. Of course we were all open with his unforgettable, and signature, cut, "WOO HAH! Got You All In Check", and his entertaining delivery and hyper-animated cadence. While this may be far and away the most excited we hear Busta on the whole album, he's still the most unique persona in hip-hop at the time (save for the late, ODB) and his very distinguishable emceeing ability shows up profoundly on dope cuts like the trash-talking, "Abandon Ship", the lyrically gliding "Hot Fudge", and the searing posse cut that has two crazy crews together on one cut, "Flipmode Squad Meets Def Squad", as Redman, Keith Murray and then-Def Squad member, Jamal of Illegal, joined Busta, Rampage and the enigmatic Lord Have Mercy for one of the most underappreciated posse cuts of the entire nineties. Sure, it's quite long, as it's over eight minutes in length, but a single minute is wasted as every single emcee shows their ass on this blazer. Along with the incredible Dilla-blessed, "Still Shining" and the crazy "Finish Line", he gets mellow in a couple moments with the R&B-flavored, Zhane (remember them?)-assisted, "It's a Party" and the Q-Tip-guested, "Ill Vybe", but as a whole, The Coming was a fantastic debut and one of the single best albums to get released during quite the strong year of '96 (It Was Written, Hell On Earth, Reasonable Doubt, The Score, Bow Down, ATLiens, Illadelph Halflife, etc.). Many have regarded it as a classic, and honestly, that's not a terrible argument.
2. When Disaster Strikes
Production: DJ Scratch, Nottz, Rockwilder, J Dilla, Didy, Easy Mo Bee, others
Guests: Flipmode Squad, Erykah Badu, Diddy, Mase, Anthony Hamilton, Jamal
Following up such an excellent debut like The Coming would require hard work, but Busta was well ahead of the task at hand. With even more demands for guest spots from the industry, Busta's star power was continuing to get bigger and bigger. This meant that he had to come back with an album that would match the star power he was starting to amass. Enter, When Disaster Strikes. Starting off with the timeless classic, "Put Your hands Where My Eyes Can See", we knew this was going to be a next level album for Busta, and quite likely his breakout album. It was that and then some. With quite the harrowing intro warning us of impending doom come the upcoming millennium, we get into the unbelievable "The World's Looking At Me". The dark grooves provided by DJ Scratch continue into the title track and "Survival Hungry" to create a certain ominous atmosphere. Once we reach the KC & The Sunshine Band-sprinkled "Get High Tonight", the vibe is uplifted, and we start filling the dance floors a little bit courtesy of the aforementioned "Put Your Hands..." and the Al Green-sampled "Turn It Up". His Flipmode regime slices up "We Can Take It Outside" and Lord Have Mercy gets his signature haunting baritone to the forefront on the dark and atmospheric knocker "Get Off My Block", but it's the fiery "Rhymes Galore" that could easily be the most impressive lyrical performance from him on this album. Over a fast paced capable of excessive neck cramping courtesy of Rashad Smith, Busta just goes for his and doesn't let his foot off the gas for an instant. We slow it down with the sultry reworking of Stevie Wonder's "As" with Erykah Badu, "One", but go right back to the radio with the Bad Boy-collaborated, "The Body Rock". Once we get to the brooding closer, When Disaster Strikes served as his benchmark moment within his career. A true classic in every sense for Busta, a star was officially here with When Disaster Strikes, and it was from this album Busta became a household name if he wasn't before.
1. ELE2: The Wrath Of God
Production: artist, Swizz Beats, Nottz, Pete Rock, DJ Premier, Rockwilder, 9th Wonder, DJ Scratch, Focus..., Hi-Tek, Terrace Martin, others
Guests: M.O.P., Flipmode Squad, Rakim, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar, Anderson.Paak, Rapsody, Rick Ross, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige, others
It had been eight years since we had last heard anything from Busta. the last effort we heard was his aforementioned Year of The Dragon in 2012 to underwhelming results. When word got out he was doing a sequel to one of his most critically and commercially acclaimed albums, the pressure was on to repeat it all, only update for 2020. During the middle of the pandemic, he dropped Extinction Level Event 2: The Wrath Of God, and it couldn't come at a better time for more than one reason. We get a phenomenal intro with Chris Rock introducing Busta (who hilariously narrates and guides us through this album), but we also get a verse from the almighty god mc himself, Rakim, with also the incomparable Pete Rock providing the same keys he did on Nas' "The World Is Yours" and making it a candidate for the best opening intro cut in his entire discography. We get into the brooding "Purge" and the Dilla & Pete Rock-blessed "Strap Yourself Down" that has an older, yet still rah-rah Busta, feeling at one with the mic again on this dual beat cut. He gets near riotous with his delivery on "Czar", and goes into glide mode over the futuristic trap vibes of "Oh No". As we all know with him, it wouldn't be a Busta album without the club and the ladies in mind, and he delivers as only he can do. He does one HELL of a job with cuts the like the BBD "Poison" reworked, "Outta My Hand', and does his thing with past collaborators Mariah Carey and Mary J. Blige on "Where I Belong" and "You Will Never Find Another Me" respectively for the R&B presence. Just for the sake of shit talking and showing he's still THAT emcee, he spits flammable bars over an excellent DJ Premier-crafted "True Indeed", but also he manages to bring the honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan to speak his wisdom and his jewels on the powerful Nottz-crafted title track which has both men angrily talking down on the Trump administration and other socio-political topics and issues that affects our community. He gets with his smooth flow on the mid-tempo shiner with Q-Tip "Don't Go", while getting things off his chest with his woman there for him on the slightly intoxicating "Deep Thoughts" and addresses a fictional argument with his baby mother (played by the dynamite talents of Rapsody over an ever soulful beat provided by 9th Wonder) on "Best I Can" that many a father can identify with. Another scintillating standout is the nasty collaboration with Kendrick on the sick Nottz-produced "Look Over Your Shoulder", as Kendrick delivers another insane performance, but so does Busta during his mind-blowing verse. The last two tracks are striking, as he gets conscious on the amazing "Freedom" (featuring a spectacular performance of R&B singer, Nikkie Grier) and the spooky "Satanic", in which he tackles how today's society plays with spirituality and blasphemous imagery and ideology. There are simply too many highlights on this album and not only does E.L.E.2 match its predecessor, it may actually outdo it. This is perhaps the most complete Busta album of them all and, in his fifties, he delivered quite possibly the album of his career, and we haven't heard him this reinvigorated since at least Genesis. Focused and an elder statesman, Busta realizes his role as an OG for this generation, so although he loves making people feel good and loves seeing people enjoy themselves, he also educates and drops jewels for this generation as well, and with Extinction Level Event 2, he triumphantly accomplishes both in seminal fashion.
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